Rochester Woman Accused of Embezzling $60,000 in Rent Scheme

A Rochester woman has been charged with allegedly stealing tens of thousands of dollars from her employer — a Centralia rental property owner — by pocketing deposits and cash payments.

Stacey C. Brown, 47, made her first appearance Wednesday in Lewis County Superior Court on one count of first-degree theft. She is accused of stealing $61,780 in rental income over the span of a year and a half.

She appeared out of custody and was granted $5,000 unsecured bail.

According to court documents, the suspected embezzlement was first reported Sept. 29, 2015. At that time, the alleged victim, the owner of Weaver Investments, reported that he suspected Brown, whose last name was then Anderson, was renting his apartment units off the books and keeping cash rent payments and deposits.

The thefts reportedly took place between January 2014 and 2015.

Weaver Investments at the time owned 39 properties in Centralia overseen by a property management company.

However, Brown, an employee of the property owner, reportedly showed the units to prospective renters, organized the signing of rental agreements and collected deposits and rent money, which she delivered to the property manager, according to court documents.

However, Weaver Investments later became aware of discrepancies in his books and came to believe Brown was renting apartments off the books and keeping the profits.

According to court documents, detectives with the Centralia Police Department were unable to interview Brown about the allegations.